Though not as significant as the prior week’s decline, wholesale vehicle prices in Canada continued their downturn in the second week of 2023.
According to the latest Market Insights report from Canadian Black Book, wholesale prices fell 0.41% for the week ending Saturday, which is heavier than the average decline for the 2017 through 2019 time frame (0.36%)
For the week ending Jan. 7, they fell 0.46%, CBB said.
Last week, car segments were down 0.36% (compared to a 0.38% decline the week before) and truck/SUV segments fell 0.45% (versus a 0.53% drop).
“The overall decreases were larger than the historical average. Supply remains low with demand for more recent and clean condition vehicles on both sides of the border,” CBB said in the report. “Upstream channels continue to tap supply before it can be available to wholesale markets.”
Conversion rates reported to CBB mostly were between 20% and 45%, but some reached upwards of 61%.
“Last week we saw more sellers dropping floors, which has been contributing to lanes with higher sell rates,” CBB said
29 months.
That’s the last time there was a year-over-year decline in Canadian Black Book’s Used Vehicle Retention Index.
That is, until last month.
The index reading of 157.6 was off 0.7% from November and down 0.6% from December 2021, CBB said.
After declining from the prior-year back in July 2020, CBB’s index went on a near two-and-a-half-year run of year-over-year gains.
Following a low point of 100.5 in May 2020 and June 2020, the index reached an apex of 165 in March 2022, with most of the subsequent months showing sequential declines.
After climbing 44.1% year-over-year in January 2022, the next 10 months would show slowing year-over-year hikes, culminating in a 0.6% drop in December, according to CBB data.
That said, at 157.6, the index remains relatively high.
“Increasing interest rates and slowly improving new-vehicle supply has had a cooling effect on the wholesale market, but the overall lack of used supply has offset much of those pressures,” said David Robins, CBB’s principal automotive analyst and head of Canadian vehicle valuations.
In September, Canadian Black Book’s Used Vehicle Retention Index increased sequentially after three months of declines.
Last week, however, Canadian wholesale vehicle prices reached a milestone of a different sort.
The 0.56% drop marked the most significant decline in used-vehicle values in …
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It was another week of price slowdowns in the Canadian wholesale market, with overall values dropping 0.27% for the week ending Friday, according to the latest Market Insights report from Canadian Black Book.
That compares to a 0.30% decline the prior week. During the 2017 to 2019 timeframe for the same week, the average movement was …
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It was another week of falling prices in the Canadian wholesale vehicle market.
The overall market was down 0.30% for the week ending Sept. 23, steady with …
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After hitting a high in March, wholesale vehicle values in Canada have now fallen sequentially for three straight months, and the year-over-year growth — while still in double-digit percentages — has moderated.
Still, used-car prices remain “extremely high,” as Canadian Black Book illustrates in a report around its Used Vehicle Retention Index for June.
The index, released Monday, came in at 161.3. That’s down from 162.6 in May and the third consecutive month-over-month decline following a peak of 165.0 in March.
Year-over-year, wholesale prices were up 29% in June. But that’s the lowest growth rate of 2022, which started with a 44% spike in January, CBB said.
Still, take that with a grain of salt.
“Trends in overall value, and year-over-year growth are in decline, there is no refuting that. This is a strong signal that finally values may have peaked,” said David Robins, CBB’s principal automotive analyst and head of Canadian vehicle valuations, in a news release.
“However, the reality is that prices are still extremely high compared to July 2020, when prices began skyrocketing,” he said.
Looking at the 22 individual vehicle segments that CBB tracks, all showed year-over-year price growth in June. However, just seven segments showed month-over-month growth.
As far as how July has started, there was a 0.26% decline in wholesale values last week, following a 0.22% decline for the week ending July 8, according to CBB’s Market Insights report from Tuesday
The average movement for the same mid-July week of 2017 through 2019 was a drop of 0.21%.
“The Canadian wholesale market decreased further this week,” CBB said, referring to the week ending July 15. “The decrease seen this week were similar to the previous week.
“Supply remains low with high demand for newer good condition vehicles on both sides of the boarder,” they added. “Upstream channels continue to tap supply before it can be available to wholesale markets.”
It was another week of price declines in the Canadian wholesale vehicle market, but with a twist.
The week ending Friday marked the first time since mid-March that the decline in car segments was steeper than the drop in truck segments, according to the latest Market Insights report from Canadian Black Book.
The overall weekly movement in used-car prices was …
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After dipping 0.23% last week, Canadian wholesale vehicle prices have now made four consecutive declines.
That’s according to the latest weekly report from Canadian Black Book, which said car segments were off 0.10% last week and truck/SUV prices fell 0.36%.
The 0.23% overall decline is steeper than …
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Stability continues in the Canadian wholesale vehicle market, as prices on used cars were up 0.03% last week, following a 0.01% rise the week before, according to the latest weekly update on the market from Canadian Black Book.
These slight gains compare to a 0.28% decline (on average) for the same weeks of 2017 through 2019, CBB said.
After a 0.10% rise the week before, car segment prices climbed 0.17% last, while truck prices continue to soften.
Values in truck/SUV segments were down 0.11% last week, following a 0.08% dip the prior week, according to CBB.
During the 2017-2019 time frame, cars were down an average of 0.22% this same while, while trucks/SUV prices fell an average of 0.33%.
“The Canadian wholesale market has continued to remain stable overall. Newer vehicles tend to be outperforming vehicles aged three years and older,” CBB said in the report.
“Supply remains low while demand continues to weaken on both sides of the border,” it added.
The Canadian wholesale vehicle market closed 2021 with 21 consecutive week-over-week increases. And then, 2022 started with two straight declines, according to Canadian Black Book, which said overall market prices fell 0.10% the week ending Jan. 7 and 0.05% the week ending Jan. 14.
The third week of the month (ending Jan. 21) wholesale prices were “relatively flat,” climbing 0.06%, CBB said.
In other words, there appears to be some moderation in wholesale values in Canada
Car segments were up 0.13%, while truck segments saw no change, according to the latest CBB Automotive Market Update.
On the car side of the market, near-luxury cars showed the most growth (up 0.75%), while prestige luxury car showed the biggest decline (down 0.43%).
Full-size vans showed the most growth among truck segments (up 0.98%), while small pickups had the steepest drop (down 0.75%).
“Prices for truck/SUV segments remained flat for the week while the car segment increased slightly, as buyers/dealers continue to take a wait and see approach,” the company said.
Later in the report, CBB said there was stabilization in the market last week after the two declines to begin 2022.
“Supply remains low while demand continues to weaken on both sides of the border. Upstream channels continue to tap supply before it can be made available at physical auctions,” CBB said.
And for those units that made it to auctions, a slight drop in demand led to some slowdown in conversion rates, as some lanes saw rates as low as the 40% range, CBB said.
The stronger quality vehicles still received quite a number of bids, however. Along those lines, CBB said “the quality of vehicles at auction remains somewhat below average as the supply of better-quality vehicles continues to be bought upstream.”
On the retail side of the market, used-car listing prices remain at “historic highs.”
The most recent 14-day moving average, which is based on analysis of approximately 120,000 used cars listed by Canadian dealers, was up past $33,000.
